Business model challenge: Lessons from a local solar company

Emrah Karakaya, Cali Nuur and Antonio Hidalgo

Renewable Energy, 2016, vol. 85, issue C, 1026-1035

Abstract: Solar photovoltaic systems are considered vital renewable energy sources for mitigating climate change and reducing dependency on fossil fuels. However, in some countries, the diffusion rate of photovoltaic systems is decreasing. A case in point is Germany, the country with the highest installed capacity of photovoltaic systems. Given the new conditions in the German market, the diffusion rate continuously declined in both 2012 and 2013. Whether the diffusion rate will again take off is not known. While the recent literature has pointed out that local solar companies have a vital driving role in diffusion, not many studies have yet discussed the business models and challenges such local companies may have. Through an extensive case study, this paper explores the business model of a local solar company in a town of 43,000 habitants in Southern Germany. The case of this company tells about an important business model challenge. Overcoming such challenges may not only let the company survive but also drive the diffusion of solar photovoltaic systems in the region. The results include implications for both industrial actors and policymakers.

Keywords: Diffusion; Innovation; Solar photovoltaics; Business model; Renewable energy; Product life cycle (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2016
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (19)

Downloads: (external link)
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0960148115301646
Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:renene:v:85:y:2016:i:c:p:1026-1035

DOI: 10.1016/j.renene.2015.07.069

Access Statistics for this article

Renewable Energy is currently edited by Soteris A. Kalogirou and Paul Christodoulides

More articles in Renewable Energy from Elsevier
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Catherine Liu ().